A very personal plea to Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer: stop the DWP cuts

The Labour-led government has announced £6bn of potential cuts to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits for chronically ill and disabled people.

Stop the DWP cuts

I push through levels of pain and sickness, just to get out of bed in the morning, that would make Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer cry like babies and flee to A&E.

Why?

I have myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

A devastating chronic condition, for which there is no cure.

I was a teacher of children with special educational needs and disabilities. I loved my work. Then I got Covid-19, became sick, and never recovered.

Covid caused me to develop ME which absolutely decimated my health and life. I was forced to give up my career and apply for financial support from the DWP to be able to afford a roof over my head and to eat.

I would much prefer to work and receive the healthy salary I used to earn. Before I became disabled, I was intending to climb Ben Nevis for charity. Now I cannot walk to the shop round the corner.

Life is a hard. Disabled people deserve respect and compassion. Support and care. Not this barrage of abuse from the people we voted in, thinking they would uphold the human rights of all UK citizens – not just the section of society who have had the ‘luck’ to not be disabled.

Believe me it’s a privilege to have your health. Anyone can become disabled. Tomorrow it could be you. How would you like to be treated?

Stop the cuts, Reeves.

Disabled people are human beings too and deserve to be treated as such.

Featured image via the Canary